Thursday, February 26, 2015

Why
would you select a native plant?Natives are wonderful in the mountains because they are adapted to our
varied microclimates, they feed our wildlife, and they keep our unique plant
heritage alive.

When
I am deciding, I go straight to one of my favorite resources, the field guide “Meet the Natives” by M. Walter Pesman.This book has lots of high quality plant
photos organized by family and color and it provides information on where and
when to look for each plant when hiking in Colorado. Unfortunately, not all of the natives are
available to the public so I then use the following website’s Colorado Native Plant Societywww.conps.org 5 guidelines
for obtaining native species.

·Check
with local nature centers or experts for recommendations.

·Read
labels on “wildflower” mixes to verify they don’t include noxious weed species.

·Ask for
plants by their scientific name as common names may vary.

·Buy from
reputable nurseries: ask about the origin of seed and plants.

·Seed /
Plant gathering from public lands is typically prohibited (this includes
National Forest Service Land).

To
find a reputable nursery I use the same website and click on Committees/ Education and Outreach/
Horticulture and Restoration/ and finally Retail Vendors.The website has an easy to follow chart of
native plants, their bloom times, heights, environmental conditions and
elevation limits.

Courtesy of Irene Shonle

How I
decided:
I wanted to incorporate a new delicate but showy plant into the front of my
garden.I am obviously thinking pink
because of Valentine’s Day and, therefore, I chose Prairie Smoke(Geum triflorum). This plant can be
easy to miss since it is only 6 to 18 inches high, has dusky pink nodding
flower heads, and fern like foliage that can blend in. When established it can form a great semi
evergreen groundcover. Yet, like many
plants we love, this plant surprises us and creates fluffy whimsical seed heads
that remind us of a cross between the dandelions and feather dusters we played
with as children. When the seedpods burst they look like pink smoke in the meadow.Finally, it had to meet my challenging
mountain garden requirements!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

So, are you
starting to get spring fever with all these nice days in February? It really doesn’t take very much space to grow
a variety of interesting vegetables in satisfying quantities.Recent postings give you some ideas about
varieties to try with realistic growing periods.

Rectangular
beds can be DIY with minimal expense and labor.If you don’t have that handy gene, you can purchase premade beds from
catalogs and garden centers.If you
choose raised rectangular beds, try a block style planting rather than long
rows.Plant, using equal distance
spacing in each direction.Yield is
higher; weeds should be minimal; plants are easily reachable for harvesting and
it’s easier to cover in sketchy mountain weather.Detailed information on block planting can be
found in CMG Garden Notes #713.

Containers
are also a great idea for the mountains because they can be moved about for optimum
weather and water; they can be located away from critters, and harvesting is
easy.Consider height and length of
roots when choosing containers. Use existing pots you can find a plethora of
containers for sale specifically for vegetables.Be aware that most vegetables need continuous
moisture and nutrients so containers need watching.Additional information is found in CMG Garden
Notes #724

Planting against
a wall can be a perfect location for cold weather vegetables in an early
planting and then be way to hot later in the summer. Remember plants that call
for full sun might thrive better in partial shade in Colorado.As with all these suggestions, you will have
to experiment and use your imagination.Take
pictures and notes!If you write down
your successes and challenges, it will give you a leg up next year.

Emphasizing
vertical plants will give you more room for variety, but will likely require
trellising.Interplanting or the
practice of planting fast growing with slower growing plants makes sense for
salad vegetables like lettuces, radishes, spinach and beets.Use succession planting to extend your yields
from early spring to late fall. There are many ways to protect, research Garden
Notes #722.Don’t forget to throw in flowers!Flowers can aid in pest control and many are
edible, all add to the color and interest of your plantings.

Friday, February 13, 2015

It’s always fun to talk with friends and family about
gardening ideas. My nephew told me about a high altitude tomato self-watering
system he and a friend each constructed and tried last summer. He lives at 6500’
and we live at 8700’ so it peaked my curiosity. The main components are reused
pieces most gardeners have on hand or can get from another local gardener. You’ll
need one five gallon bucket (outer/reservoir bucket), another five gallon
bucket or a black plant pot with drain holes in the bottom (inner/planting
bucket), a 4” diameter pot like a yogurt container, deli container or a net pot
(wicking basket), potting soil, a PVC pipe longer than the height of the outer/reservoir
bucket, and a drill.

Cut a large hole in the
bottom, center of the interior/planting bucket that is slightly smaller
than the wicking basket. Then cut a hole in the bottom, outside edge of
the interior bucket that is slightly larger than your PVC pipe. Using a ¼
inch drill bit, drill extra drain holes into the bottom of the interior
bucket.

For the wicking basket,
put lots of small holes in the yogurt or deli container, or just use a net
pot as is.

Place the wicking basket
into the outer/reservoir bucket. Then nest the interior/planting bucket
into the outer one, sitting on top of the wicking basket. Align the large
hole of the inner bucket with the wicking basket.

Put the PVC pipe in the
similar sized hole so that it almost touches the bottom of the
outer/reservoir bucket. (This allows you to water into the pipe so that the
water goes into the reservoir. The PVC pipe also helps stake the plant.)

Drill a ¼” hole into the
side of the outer/reservoir bucket about 1/4” below the bottom of the
inner/planting bucket. (You know you have put enough water in when it
reaches this hole.)

Put potting soil into the
wicking basket and inner/planting bucket, then plant the tomato deeply
into the inner bucket. (When the wicking basket is surrounded by water,
the water will soak the soil that’s in the wicking basket and be pulled up
into the planter as needed. The ¼” holes in the bottom of the bucket allow
excess water to drain out. You could also try other plants covering the root
ball.)

My nephew said that his version did better and produced much
more fruit than other methods he’d tried and bested his friend’s tomato plant.
Apparently, because the potting soil absorbed the water for even moisture but
didn’t get wet feet, the tomato rooted well. They had used the same tomatoes
which led to the conclusion that that the PVC pipe and net pot allowed more
aeration and leaned toward a hydroponic method. He sent me a link to a DIY tutorial
on www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com. Thanks to author Mike Lieberman. Given growing
tomatoes at altitude is always a challenge and not always very productive, this
new method is sure worth a try this season.